If you are a Star Wars fan, this is a most exciting time for you. The opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is quickly approaching and now you can get a bigger dose of The Force at the Disneyland with the addition of Season of the Force to Tomorrowland. I’ve experienced all of the Season of the Force offerings, and let me tell you, it is heaven for Star Wars fans!

Here are all of the things you can do to be one with the Force at Disneyland!

Ride Hyperspace Mountain: Similar to the Ghost Galaxy overlay at Halloween Time, Space Mountain has received a Star Wars overlay to become Hyperspace Mountain, and… it… is… awesome! I could explain it in detail, but showing you with this ride along video (hosted by my 10-year-old Aidan) is a much better way to see the attraction.

For an overview of what you can see (and me losing my cool and geeking out), check out our video of Star Wars Launch Bay and the Chewbacca meet and greet.

Climb Aboard a Starspeeder 1000: Guests board a Starspeeder 1000 at Star Tours blast off on a thrilling tour of the Star Wars galaxy and may experience scenes and characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The new scenes are really fantastic and a true treat for fans.

New scenes have been added to Star Tours from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: Path of the Jedi: In the Tomorrowland Theater (aka to us old-timers “the Magic Eye Theater”), guests can relive stories from the Star Wars saga (or discover them for the first time if there is still anyone who hasn’t seen all of the Star Wars movies) through a short film compilation that includes moments from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The cool thing about this experience is that many of the film’s special effects jump off the screen and into the theater. Even if you’ve seen all of the movies a million times, you’ll want to check this out.

Relive great scenes from past Star Wars films and experience new ones at the Tomorrowland Theater.

New Star Wars-inspired foods are also available at Pizza Port, including the delicious pizza pictured below.

Dark Side Chicken Curry Specialty Pizza available at Pizza Port

Shop: Disneyland had a nice amount of Star Wars-themed merchandise before it purchased the rights to the franchise. Now, however, a day at Disneyland is a shopping paradise for Star Wars fans. We are huge fans of the Disney and Pixar characters who are reimagined as Star Wars characters (click here for one of our favorites in this category). With the addition of Season of the Force and Star Wars Launch Bay, there is even more incredible merchandise, Her Universe apparel in Star Trader. For “dedicated” fans, there are “out of this world” life-size statues and other high-end collectibles at Star Wars Launch Bay.

The shopping doesn’t end there. There are many opportunities to purchase sippers and other Star Wars souvenirs from the Tomorrowland outdoor vending carts and restaurants.

BB-8 Droid Sipper available at Galactic Grill and Pizza Port

Tomorrowland Lemonade X-Wing Fighter Light Up Clip

Chewbacca Stein at the Tomorrowland Fruit Cart

Darth Vader and Tie Fighter Popcorn Buckets

Sippers available at Tomorrowland Terrace and Pizza Port

Han Solo in carbonite box available at Tomorrowland Terrace

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple: This reimagined battle experience takes younglings to the secret site of an ancient Jedi temple, where they discover if they have the makings of a true Jedi. This new guest experience debuts December 8 and will include Darth Vader and the Seventh Sister Inquisitor from Star Wars Rebels.

What are you most excited to experience at the Season of the Force? If you’ve already experienced it, what was your favorite element? We would love for you to tell us in the comment section below!

The activities specific to Season of the Force include the themed foods at Galactic Grill (Tomorrowland Terrace) and Pizza Port, as well as the special Star Wars-themed food souvenir purchases (popcorn buckets, etc.), Hyperspace Mountain and Star Wars: Path of the Jedi. They are scheduled to end May 26, 2016, but that date could change (be extended) without notice. We will have information more information on Season of the Force and the new Jedi Training experience, as well as updates on the construction of the new Star Wars Land as it becomes available. Be sure to “like” our Facebook page and subscribe to our notifications so that you can stay up-to-date!

When Innoventions closed we all speculated on what exactly it would be and now we know: it has been renamed the Tomorrowland Expo and features two floors of fantastic fun, with one dedicated to Marvel and another dedicated to Star Wars called the Star Wars Launch Bay. Located on the first floor of the Tomorrowland Expo, Star Wars Launch Bay is the central space for fans to celebrate all things Star Wars. If you are a Star Wars fan, you are going to LOVE it. I promoise. (Tomorrowland Expo is open daily.)

There are a lot of wonderful things inside the Launch Bay, but I am going to tell you the best part up front: it was my kids’ smiles. Aidan is 10-years-old now. For those of you who have been reading since the beginning, he was 3 when I started Babes. I don’t want to say that he is “over the magic,” but I haven’t seen that glow in his face or that Disney sense of wonderment in a really long time, and quite frankly, as a Disney-loving mom that can be heartbreaking. But while it Star Wars Launch Bay, it was like Aidan was a tiny boy all over again getting to experience magic for the very first time. As I write this I can barely see my screen through the tears just thinking about how it felt to see him like that one more time. For moms like me whose boys are getting older (and love Star Wars), I promise you that you will love this experience as much as I did. THIS, is what Disney magic is all about.

Character Meet & Greet Galleries: Guests who visit the Launch Bay can “join the Resistance” and meet Chewbacca at a Rebel base or “come to the dark side”and meet Darth Vader in a Star Destroyer. Both experiences are incredible. Actually, “incredible” doesn’t begin to describe how cool it is. I honestly don’t know what came over me when I met Chewbacca; I lost it! The video below gives a brief overview of the Launch Bay and shows me pretty much losing it with Chewie.

When it came time form kids to meet Darth Vader, they were left totally and completely speechless.

I know what you are thinking: the lines to see Chewbacca and Darth Vader are going to be really long, but do know that it is much more than a character meet and greet; the dark- and light-side galleries offer really special opportunities to see helmets and lightsabers belonging to some of the most iconic Star Wars characters. My boys literally couldn’t believe their eyes.

In case you didn’t notice, the helmets and lightsabers aren’t just from the movies, but belong to some of the characters from the animated series. The fact that the animated characters had their “props” there blew my kids’ minds.

***Keep in mind that Disney Visa Credit Cardholders are entitled to a special Disney Visa Imperial Meet and Greet in the Star Wars Launch Bay daily from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Be sure to have your Disney Visa Credit Card to get in!***

The Cantina: Want to relive the iconic Cantina scene? Now you can! The Cantina is a gathering place to take photos with a holochess or sabacc table. (Sabacc is a popular card game played throughout the galaxy, often with high stakes. Holochess is a chess-like game that utilizes holographic representations of the playing pieces.)

Movie Artifacts Area: Basically, this area is a super awesome Star Wars museum with authentic replicas of props and costumes and starship models. You can even see Rey’s Speeder… and it is life size!

Get Gaming: Guests may play current and upcoming Star Wars video games at the Game Center, including new and exclusive Disney Infinity 3.0 content created exclusively for the Launch Bay.

Launch Bay Theater: Love to soak in Star Wars trivia? Here, guests can watch a short video that includes exclusive interviews with the directors, writers, producers and other key crew members who continue to bring the saga to life.

Great pieces of Star Wars art. I am a huge fan of these retro-inspired pieces.

Other Star Wars Launch Bay Facts:

Throughout the space, guests will find Aurebesh writings in the environment. Aurebesh is a writing system used to transcribe Basic, the most used language in the Star Wars galaxy.

Inspired by the iconic opening crawl in every Star Wars film, a welcoming text scroll on the carpet will greet guests as they enter the experience.

First Order stormtroopers patrolling the area outside Launch Bay are on a mission to find members of the Resistance.

Star Wars Launch Bay will likely be the anecdote that gets all of us through until we get to quench our thirst for Star Wars in Star Wars Land. Of course, as always, stay tuned to our Facebook page or subscribe to our updates via email (in the sidebar of the blog) for the latest Disneyland news as it happens.

Beginning on January 11, 2016, big changes will begin at the Disneyland Resort. In the past, Disneyland has hosted the “Year of a Million Dreams,” and 2016 (in my opinion) will be the “Year of a Lot of Closures.” Refurbishments are normal and necessary for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure to remain safe and visually pleasing. Annual refurbishments provide resort staff the opportunity to fix or tune up attractions, paint, add enhancements, change menus and much more. (Click here to learn more about refurbishments.)

In 2016, regular resort refurbishments will continue as they normally do, but so will big closures–both temporary and permanent–that will change the landscape of Disneyland forever. The two big projects include the building of a new Star Wars-themed land (click here for more information) and the premiere of a new Broadway-style stage show in the Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure. All of the construction and changes will begin January 11, which means January 10 is the last day to enjoy many Disneyland Resort favorites. In no particular order, here are the ten things you MUST do at Disneyland before January 11.

Take a goat selfie at Big Thunder Ranch: Of all of the changes coming to the Disneyland Resort, this is the one that really cuts me the deepest. To make way for Star Wars land, Big Thunder Ranch will be closing. CLOSING. This means NO MORE GOATS. And, no, according to Cast Members at the Resort, there will not be a new location for the goats and other animals (i.e. Spanish burros); they will all be going home with Circle D Cast Members (Circle D is the ranch/corral fascility where the animals currently reside). Most of these Cast Members live on or have access to horse property, which means the animals will stay with caregivers they already know and who already love them. My heart is broken because Disneyland’s animals provide my city slickers with the opportunity to meet and interact with animals they would never have access to in our regular lives–animals that are as safe as they come handled by the most compassionate caretakers around.

Eat at Big Thunder Barbeque: We’ve written an entire post on this in the past (click here for our article), but it is important for us to mention again that Big Thunder Barbecue is simply delicious and a wonderful family-style meal. Yes, we know it’s a bit pricey, but keep these four things in mind while considering a reservation:

Children under 3 eat for free.

Lunch is less expensive than dinner.

Schedule a late lunch and you might only need a small snack at dinner time.

Annual passholders get a discount with their pass.

Take in an Aladdin show (or two… or three): Yes. The Aladdin show in Disney California Adventure is ending after a very long run. The show is AMAZING and the way the Genie keeps his jokes fresh is nothing short of genius. The show is being replaced by a Frozen stage show. While I understand the need to change out shows and keep things fresh, I really wish they would have chosen an animated move that is a bit more gender neutral.

Take a full circle tour of the Magic Kingdom aboard the Disneyland Railroad: For our family, the Disneyland Railroad is more than an attraction, it is transportation. We visit the park with my parents and the kids a lot, and it is nice to hop on the train to get from place to place. Another reason I love the Disneyland Railroad is that I’ve always thought it is the first thing people should ride on their first visit to Disneyland as it is a nice overview of the park and provides first timers with a broad overview / orientation of what is in the park.

The Disneyland Railroad closure is temporary and will reopen at a later date. Although we do not have a date for when it will reopen, my best guess would be about a year.

Explore Tom Sawyer Island: Oh, the island! We’ve had some great times there. My kids love exploring its caves and discovering the treasure at the back of the island. The island is another temporary closure due to the construction of Star Wars land and will likely be at least a year like the other temporary closures. I really recommend seeing the island before it closes just in case they make changes to it.

See Fantasmic!: Fantasmic! is my all-time favorite show at the Disneyland Resort. Period. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. At this time, it is slated to come back once river traffic reopens, but it wouldn’t hurt to take in a show before it closes… because it is totally awesome.

Image courtesy of the Disneyland Resort

Ride the Mark Twain Riverboat: The Mark Twain Riverboat is another of our family favorites because sometimes you just need some moments of peace and tranquility while at Disneyland. When you get there, make your trip extra special and ask the Cast Member at the dock if you can ride in the wheelhouse. Those lucky enough to get to ride up top get to ring the bell and blow the whistle. (Of course leave that honor to the kiddos… even though you are dying to do it too.) This is another temporary closure.

Ride the Sailing Ship Columbia: If you have a child who loves pirates, you must get in one last ride aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia before it temporarily closes for the construction of Star Wars land. And… don’t forget that you and the kiddos can go below deck. Children LOVE exploring the crew’s quarters.

Explore the log cabin at Big Thunder Ranch: Our family has had some great memories exploring the log cabin at Big Thunder Ranch, and I have to say I am pretty bummed out to see this peaceful, beautiful spot go away. This is a particularly cherished spot for families with toddlers becuase it is rarely crowded and provides little ones a place to toddle away from the crowds… in the shade.

Here is my family’s favorite memory of the cabin. Trust me when I tell you it is worth watching for the end. It will give you a giggle. It will be missed when it closes (forever) with the closure of Big Thunder Ranch.

Paddle a canoe: This one may be a bit more difficult to do if there is bad weather or you visit on a day when the park is not too busy, as the Davy Crocket Explorer Canoes do not operate in inclement weather or when attendance is low. If you have kids who can sit still for about 10 minutes, I highly recommend getting out on the Rivers of America for one last paddle until the attraction reopens in a year or so.

So there you have it: the ten things I think you MUST do at the Disneyland Resort before all of the big changes begin on January 11. Which ones will you be crossing off your list?

This year my family and I attended the first night of Mickey’s Halloween Party. As always, we had a total blast! This was our fourth (or maybe fifth or sixth, I’ve lost count) year going, and we really seem to have things down to a science now. Here’s how we “do” Mickey’s Halloween party.

We got our priorities straight: The candy is great and this is what the kids really want, but the candy isn’t the best part of the night, in my opinion. The rides have super short lines (except for Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and Haunted Mansion Holiday), so we go on the rides after ONE trick-or-treat location. The lines for the candy trails are much longer in the beginning of the night, but since the kids are dying to dig in to some candy, we stand in line for one (maybe two) and then hit the rides.

The post trick-or-treat candy exchange and munching.

Trust me when I tell you that it is totally worth waiting until later in the evening for candy. This year, we split up and my husband took the older boys on rides and trick-or-treating while my youngest son and I watched Paint the Night and fireworks. They walked on every ride and right up to all of the trick-or-treat stations with no wait. After the parade, my youngest and I went through the Town Square trick-or-treat trail without any other guests around. This was quite different from what we experienced earlier in the evening.

We ate dinner before the party started: In the past, we’ve opted to eat at the party. Mostly, this was because we were stuck in crazy LA traffic getting to the party and couldn’t eat beforehand. This year, we pulled the kids out of school at noon so that we could get there early. (I apologize to my kids’ school if they are reading this. ) We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the PCH Grille at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel before we went into the parks. (I will have a full review of the new buffet on the blog very soon.)

Simplified costumes: We LOVE dressing up for Halloween and over the years have put together some pretty elaborate costumes. This year, we decided to take it down a notch for a few reasons. First and foremost, my kids usually get sick of their costumes the more tired they get. I can’t begin to count how many years my kids have stripped away pieces of their costumes while waiting for the Halloween Screams fireworks to start. This year, I kept the costumes cool and made it easy for them to peel away layers. (And also made it so the costume pieces they did peel off could easily fit in my bag. (No swords or large accessories this year!) I also went ahead and said NO to elaborate makeup. There’s nothing worse than a kid smearing the makeup he’s sick of all over the place and whining about it.

We took our time: Because Mickey’s Halloween Party is shorter than a regular park day, the tendancy is to rush, rush, rush. This year, we took our time and didn’t stress out about running from one place to the next and had a really lovely time. If we hadn’t taken our time, we would have missed out on seeing great families who did take their costumes to the next level like this:

This family looked amazing as the entire cast of Pinocchio.

The Barone family from OC Mom Blog looked fab as the gang from Inside Out.

Stay the night on property: When it comes to late Disneyland nights, there is one lifesaver my family cannot do without, and that’s staying on property. We live in LA and that drive back once the kids have “hit the wall” can be excruciating. Heck, just getting them back to the structure once they’re “done” can feel like torture. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and it was so wonderful to be able to quickly head back and have the kids in bed within 20 minutes of leaving the parks.

Tickets are already sold out for this year’s halloween parties. If you are interested in going next year, follow our blog on Facebook and Twitter to find out as soon as the dates and purchasing info are released.

Learn more about Mickey’s Halloween Party with these informative posts (all updated as of October 2015):

Merchandise Mondays are typically pretty broad, but this one is a little different, and a lot specific. I found something very fun the last time I was at California Adventure – I found Star Wars Cars toys! Someone try and tell me this is NOT a little boys dream come true! My son went through a serious Cars-crazy phase the first 5 years of his life and is now transitioning into a Star Wars fanatic phase. For him, these toy are mind-blowing. Red as Chewbacca! Mater as Darth Vader! And of course Lightning McQueen as Luke Skywalker!

These Star Wars Cars are very nice quality, 1:55 scale die-cast vehicles. They are limited edition (my internet research tells me they came out Christmas of 2013) and theme park exclusive. I didn’t see them at the World of Disney Store, and I couldn’t order them through the Disney Merchandise Hotline. The only place to find them is in Sarge’s Surplus Hut in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure and Star Trader in Tomorrowland at Disneyland (thanks to reader Angela for that tip)!

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Babes In Disneyland combines the best of everything the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney Company has to offer families with young children and Disney fans alike, in addition to providing reviews and information on the latest travel products, Southern California destinations and lodging options and much more for families.